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Gymnast Summer Hubbard, 24 from Florida talks about what it's like to be part of Cirque du Soleil Amaluna.

There’s a classic feminist line about how Ginger Rogers did all the same moves as Fred Astaire — but she did them backwards and in high heels. In Cirque du Soleil’s astonishing new show Amaluna, which opened Tuesday night under the big top in downtown Vancouver, one of the performers pulled off a high wire Ginger Rogers routine, watching one of the men cross, then doing the same — in what appeared to be two-inch high heels. Then, after she completed her flawless walk, the aerialist flipped the heels off her shoes and tossed them at one of the male co-stars before they performed together. It was a perfect girl power moment in a show that’s practically an acrobatic celebration of “the divine feminine.”

Amaluna, which has a cast that’s more than 70 per cent female, takes the story of Shakespeare’s Tempest and switches a few genders and species so it’s a female wizard (and cellist), Prospera (Julie McInnes), keeping her innocent sexy daughter Miranda (Juliya Mikhailova) at a distance from the sexy shipwrecked sailor, Romeo (Suren Bozyan). The Caliban character (Viktor Kee) is a lizard, but this is a lizard king who steals almost every scene he’s in — and possibly your popcorn if you’re sitting close enough to the stage.

Even if you’ve seen a dozen Cirque du Soleil shows you’ve never seen one quite like this. Cirque du Soleil’s two Las Vegas megahits have been O — an underwater spectacular and Zumanity — a Cirque show with an “R” Rating. Amaluna borrows a bit from both, offering a bit of flashy, splashy underwater action, a proudly sexy show and a “G” rating — though just barely. There are certainly contortions parents will appreciate for much different reasons than their kids.

But there’s no doubt romance ... and sex ... provides the pulse of Amaluna. The first act ends with Miranda — who spends most of the first act in a Daisy Duke type outfit — doing wildly sexy contortions in and out of the water. And the second act kicks off with the shirtless pirate boys in prison, performing a wild acrobatic routine while their Amazon captors ogle them. And there’s a steamy aerial tango in the first act that would just have to lose a little of fabric from the costumes to fit right into Zumanity.

But the most distinctive aspect of Amaluna is that while almost every Cirque du Soleil event since the early days has had a plot of sorts, this one — directed by Diane Paulus who’s usual day job is staging plays on Broadway — feels like a real story, not just a concept designed to contain a lot of cool circus tricks.

Picking out highlights for this show is as tough as figuring out where to look when most of the cast is onstage for a few scenes and there’s something happening everywhere. But some of the acts appear to be so downright impossible it’s hard to believe they’re not special effects. In the second act a woman dressed like Khaleesi from Game of Thrones crafts something downright magical with 13 palm-leaf ribs that look like bones that she assembles — partly with her feet, doing moves that would sprain muscles in most yoga masters. As the audience hears her progressively more laboured breathing through a body microphone, there are moments the audience stops breathing. And what she finishes with is something as breathtaking as Khaleesi’s dragon. The program describes the manipulator, Lara Jacobs, as “the Balance Goddess” — and it’s a title she earns.

The elaborate costumes (designed by Mérédith Caron), the elegantly simple set and crazily creative props (created by Scott Pask) and the intricately effective lighting (by Matthieu Larivée) are all fantastically effective, even by Cirque standards. The show also features an all-female band that looks — and sounds — like the Runaways blended with Ziggy Stardust era David Bowie.

Over the course of the night the crowd kept blurting out things like, “wow,” “oh my God,” “that’s insane” and “Holy &%$!” And if you’re looking for a one- or two-word review, any of those would do the trick.

On opening night the crowd included some of Vancouver’s best known local celebs — including TV stars like Ian Tracey, Nicholas Lea and John Cassini, and at least one Sedin. Top ticket prices are NHL expensive — and backstage access could cost you about what you’d pay for hot seats to see the Sedins if they were skating in the playoffs — but there are bargains available if you look (including some advertised in the tent), and you are paying to see a multiracial cast of over 100 elite performers from around the world staging an unforgettable show.

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